Newsletter

In January 2014, the Moldovan leu has registered a rapid devaluation, of over 15% (in real terms) against the US dollar (USD), compared to January 2013. The devaluation of the national currency has both advantages and disadvantages. In this article we intend to analyze how reasonable has been the exchange rate of the national currency against the dollar, during the last 13 years, using a less conventional, burgernomic method, introduced by The Economist in 1986 – the method of the Big Mac Index .

The project „Promoting PPI as an efficient mechanism for community empowerment and sustainable local development” is successfully coming to an end. This initiative has financially supported the implementation of 4 infrastructure projects in Telenesti and Orhei.

Business Consulting Institute and the PAUCI Foundation have organized a new study visit to Poland, during 3-7 February, 2014. The visit is part of the project „Promoting PPI as an efficient mechanism for community empowerment and sustainable local development”. This EU project comes to strengthen the capacities of non-state actors and local authorities for cooperation and sustainable development. It promotes the concept of participatory planning and implementation, which is new in Moldova.

The EU project „Promoting PPI as an efficient mechanism for community empowerment and sustainable local development” continues its activities. Local development strategies were defined for Orhei and Telenesti Towns. Financial support will be offered for the implementation of projects in these towns, which will improve infrastructure, will offer access to better services and contribute to socio-economic development.

The term of decentralization, unknown for majority in Moldova, has been recently adopted by our politicians, about ten years ago. In 2006, due to the pressure of the European institutions and civil society, the communist Parliament has approved a normative document – the law on administrative decentralization. After the pro-European alliance has acceded to power, the idea of decentralization has been retaken, being introduced as governance priority to all the programmes of the governments after 2009.

A new European project comes to strengthen the capacities of non-state actors and local authorities for cooperation and sustainable development. The project “Promoting PPI as an efficient mechanism for community empowerment and sustainable local development” is implemented by Business Consulting Institute and is financially supported by the European Union.

Decentralization and local autonomy are basic principles for an efficient local government. The European Charter of Local Self-Government, ratified by Moldova in 1997, provides that local authorities are part of the foundation of any democratic regime. Through local government, citizens have the most direct means to participate to public affairs.

In a country strongly affected by migration and poverty, many of the citizens of Moldova have found the chance to exceed themselves and to successfully launch a business – in the Project „Support the innovative use of remittance in productive rural investment”. The project, implemented by Business Consulting Institute – in partnership with ProRural Invest (Moldova) and the Foundation for Economic Development and European Integration (Iasi, Romania) – has offered support to emigrants working abroad, giving them and their families the possibility to invest earned money in a business founded at home, in Moldova.

In Moldova nothing is for granted. The rules exist just to prove the exceptions. The promises are made just to be broken. The definitions are being formulated just to be disputed. The coalitions are being created just to be disintegrated. Nothing can be settled.

The current structure of the municipal authorities dates from the Soviet period and is significantly bureaucratized. This makes the work of the Chisinau administration inefficient and inefficacious. During the tenure of the current mayor Dorin Chirtoaca, who is the Liberal Party’s candidate, a functional analysis study of the City Hall and its subdivisions was carried out with the assistance of foreign and national experts. The reform of the municipal administration is based on this study. Regretfully, this reform wasn’t implemented because the parties that formed the old Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) did not have enough political will.

The Coalition for Fiscal Decentralization has analyzed „The Study on the opportunity of modifying the principle of revenue tax withholding for physical and juridical persons who carry out an entrepreneurship activity by allocating it to budgets where the tax subjects have their domicile/residence, irrespective of the location of the source”, elaborated by the Ministry of Finance and thus presents its comments and propositions.

On April 29, 2011, at Chisinau there was launched the Report “The Reform of Central Public Administration in R. Moldova: Performance Evaluation of the Implementation”, financially supported by the Good Governance Program of Soros Foundation Moldova. The Report has been elaborated by a group of independent experts, coordinated by Business Consulting Institute. The experts have shown the evolution of the CPA Reform, including its favorable results and failures and made recommendations to guide future activities of CPA reformation.

On July 21, 2010, Business Consulting Institute (BCI) in partnership with ProRuralInvest and Foundation for Economic Development and European Integration (FEDEI)conducted the launching conference of the project „Support the innovative use of remittance in productive rural investment”. The project iswill be implemented during July 2010 – June 2012 and is financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

During the period 2010-2013, the Project „Good Governance in Chisinau – Introducing Performance – Based Budgeting in the Capital of Moldova” is being implemented in the Republic of Moldova. The Project is financed by the CEI/KEP Program and co-financed by the Assistance Program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and is realized by the Polish Cooperation Foundation PAUCI in partnership with Business Consulting Institute (Republic of Moldova). The Project aims to promote good governance in Chisinau Municipality and particularly to improve the quality of financial management by introducing the performance–based budgeting model, build on the Polish experience.